The Falcon softball team continued to play very well against WIAC teams as they defeated UW-Stout in both games of the doubleheader Tuesday afternoon at Ramer Field.
River Falls won the first game 13-3 in five innings and the second game 3-1 to improve to 14-11 overall and 5-1 in WIAC play.
River Falls 13, Stout 3 (5)
The Falcons scored 13 runs, the second most in any game this year in the win. They banged out 11 hits with four of them going for extra bases. UWRF scored twice in the first and single runs in the second and third. They put the game away with nine runs in the fourth.
Rose Tusa (Roseville, MN, St. Anthony Village) got the start for the Falcons and she picked up the win. She is now 9-5 this year. She pitched four innings, giving up two earned runs on two hits and striking out five Stout batters. Two runs came in the third inning for Stout. The other came in the top of the fifth, but it was too little too late. Nikki Osmonson (Otsego, MN, Rogers) pitched the last inning and allowed one earned run on one hit.
The two first inning runs came off the bat of Ashley Goettl (North Mankato, MN, West) who hit a two-run homer to left field.
The Falcons bats came alive in the bottom of the fourth inning. They scored nine runs on seven hits and they capitalized on three Stout errors. Amanda Ryder (Menomonie, WI, Menomonie) had two hits in the inning. She led off with a single to center. She came up later in the inning and hit a grand slam homer to center.
Ryder went 3-3 in the game with two runs scored and four runs batted in. Hayley Buchanan (Eden Prairie, MN, Eden Prairie) and Goettl would both go 2-2 in the game. Buchanan hit a solo homer, her second of the year, to lead off the second inning. She scored three runs and had two RBI.
River Falls 3, Stout 1
Game two was much tighter and the Falcons were able to pull out the close win.
Stout got on the board right away in the first inning. The Blue Devils scored one run on three hits to take an early lead.
Goettl hit her seventh home run of the year in the third inning. Goettl's home run was a two run shot giving the Falcons a 2-1 lead. She has hit five home runs and has 11 RBI in the team's last four games.
Ryder gave the Falcons an insurance run when she hit a solo home run to center in the sixth. That was Ryder's second home run of the season.
Sarah Bohlen (Rochester, MN, Mayo) got the win for the Falcons on the mound, improving her record to 2-0. Tusa would earn the save in the game, her first of the season. Bolen worked five innings and allowed seven hits and one earned run. She struck out two and didn't walk a batter. Tusa worked the final three innings and allowed just one hit – a triple in the seventh. She struck out four and didn't walk a batter.
The Falcons next play a WIAC doubleheader on Saturday at UW-Superior.The first pitch is at 2 p.m.
